Legacy
by Sapphire Pen Master
Summary: Eragon's life is good. He and Saphira are training new dragons and dragon riders, Roran and Katrina have started a small family and everyone is happy. However, when Ismira, Katrina and Roran's three year old daughter, disappears without a trace a dark cloud comes into their lives. Not one of them knowing the events that will unfold as Ismira grows into a young woman. SNEAK PEEK


**Alright people, don't get to excited about this. This is just a sneak peek. I will not start writing this until I am finished with my Ranger's Apprentice Fanfic called Ranger or Princess (Title may change soon). I just really want to do this one and am posting it to remind myself to get to it someday. I wrote it fairly quickly so sorry if there are a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes. The names might change too.**

**Sneak Peak**

Eragon looked up as Larkin, the newest dragon rider, ran toward him with swift, graceful strides. He frowned, though the young elf's face was smooth, there was a urgency in his movements. Feeling his unease, Saphira tuned in more closely with his thoughts.

"What is it, Larkin?" he asked.

"Master, the scry mirror in your office is glowing."

Eragon frowned, who would be trying to contact him. Saphira was already winging her way toward him, quickly dissmissing the two young dragons she had been training.

He began to stride toward his office, wondering who was calling for him. The thought that it might be Arya sent a familiar warm ache through his chest. As always he would be happy to see her, but the sight of her bueatiful features always filled him with a longing.

It might be Nasuada, he had scent the Carriers to Alagaësia with the new dragon egg a while back but it was still too soon for them to have reached his native country.

He looked up as Saphira's enormous shadow passed over him, her glittering blur scales almost blinding him in the bright sun. Coiling his legs he easily leaped upward, grabbed onto her tail and she swung him up onto her back.

_It may be Roran, _she said. _Ismira may have said a new word._

The humor in her voice was obvious. When Katrina and Roran had had their first child, Garrow, they had contacted them often about every little thing the little boy did. With Ismira's arrival they had been a little more calmer.

As they flew toward his living quarters his mind filled with the image of the little girl. Only three years old and already the center of her little family. With her mother bright copper curls, and large, emerald green eyes she was easily the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen.

She also showed much potential. She picked up on things so quickly that Roran and Katrina had a hard time telling them all about it when they did contact them. He was also sure that Ismira had inherited magic in her blood and it was already manifesting. With one of Roran's last contacts they had discussed long and hard the strange happenings around the little girl. Animals were drawn to her, even the most dangerous animals would not harm her, birds flew and sang her to sleep, dogs guarded her as she played. Eragon kept it to himself, but he harbored the hope that one day, when Ismira was presented before a dragon egg, it would hatch for her.

Because of it he had taken certain mesures to make sure she was safe. He sent her a necklace for her first birthday, one that would prevent enemies from sensing her magic and scyring her.

Well, almost to himself, Saphira harbored the same hopes. She was saving one of her own precious eggs for just such a time.

Saphrina soared through the enormous entrance in the side of the mountain. The air almost instantly cooled. She padded through the huge tunnel that led to his office, large cuts in the side letting the sun stream in. He slid of her back as they reached the large open area and hurried to the pulsating mirror. He tapped it with his finger and Roran's face almost instantly appeared on the screen. Eragon's warm smile froze when he saw his cousin fully. Roran's eyes were wild, his hair and beard unkept. Deep shadows hung under his eyes and he looked pale.

"Roran, what's wrong?"

"Ismira is gone."

Eragon felt his insides freeze.

"How long has she been missing?"

"Three days, the entire village has been out seraching for her but there is no trace to where she might have gone. Nasuada is sending some magicians to help but..." Roran's voice broke.

"We'll find her Roran. I'll contact Arya, maybe she will send some of the elves. I'll scry for her and consult with my masters, maybe they know away to track her."

Roran nodded helplessly but there was not much hope in his eyes. It was next to impossible for such a young child to survive for long out in the forest on their own. Even though wild animals would not harm her, there were still many other dangers.

Eragon grinnted his teeth. He was tempted to go strait back to Palancar Valley and help search for his neice. But it would take a few months to reach his old home. By the time he reached there Ismira either would have already been found or...he did not let himself think it.

"Keep searching Roran, she could not have gone far."

"We won't."

Eragon nodded before breaking the connection.

He contacted Nasuada, Arya, he contacted the ancient dragons within their heart of hearts.

Everyone on both sides tried everything.

But they would never find the girl. No dog to track her scent, no spell could find her She seemed to have been swallowed up by the Spine.

…

Ismira looked around at the tall dark trees, scared and confused. She was cold, hungry and she missed her Mama. Mama, Papa and Row, which was all she could say of her brothers name.

"Mama!" she called out, her small, high voice ringing through the trees.

It had been all fun and games to her when she had first entered the woods, skipping through meadows picking wild flowers, chasing butterflies and clambering over rocks. When she past, the birds flew down for a moment from their nests to chirp at her before returning to their busy lives. A bear followed her a little while before lumbering off to eat berries.

That was until the night started to fall and darkness crept over the forest. The gleam of the night animals eyes skittered around the edge of her vision but she was not afraid of them. She was afraid because she could not find her way back home. She could not even see the lights of the keep or Caravahall from here.

In desperation she clung to the only familiar thing she had. A necklace with the image f a dragon in flight, green emeralds for it's eyes. It was tiny and delicate and a gift from her Uncle Eragon that her mother had managed to convey she should never take off.

In response to her fear the necklace shone with a soft, conforting light that allowed her to just see the ground at her feet. Making her way over to one of the large trees she huddled close to the trunk, tucked into a nest of roots. Papa would come and find her. Or Uncle Horst.

They would never get the chance.

Despite her fear her eyelids began to droop, but the next moment her eyes went wide as the caught sight of something. Lights, bright spheres of light streaking over the next mountain ridge. They were of many colors and sizes, pulsating and changing.

They danced around the tree trunks in an almost playful manner. They were heading for her. When they reached her they spun around her tree slowly, going up and down, seeming to be watching her.

She laughed. Their bright light was warm and made the darkness disappear. Getting to her feet she turned in a circle to see them better. One of them came toward her, delighted she reached out a hand and touched it. The moment her fingers made contact with the brigth surface the light flared, radiating beams of light.

Her eyes went wide as a warmth and joy rushed through her like nothing else she had ever felt before. Though she could not here words the light seemed to be asking a question, and she understood.

_Why were you unhappy?_

_ I scared. Dark._

The light let out more beams and she knew it was communiating with the others. As one they converged on her. She felt herself beging gently jouslsted. Like when Row or the dogs played with her or when her parents skooped her up in a huge bear hug.

Without her even knowing it, here feet left the ground. Wind wiped across her face as she picked up speed and shot above the level of the trees and flew through the air. She laughed as the dipped in and out of the valleys and gulfs of the mountains. As fast as being on a dragons back.

They gently set her down a while later. She did not know that it was many leagues from home, an enormous array of forest and mountains seperating her from her family. The balls of light had placed her down next to the open mouth of a cave. Large crystals of every size spilled from the entrance, glowing a steady blue. They had brought her somewhere where it was not dark.

_Thank you. _She thought, delighted. Walking toward the crystals she crossed a small meadow. Small white and purple flowers carpeted the area and when she reached the first cluster of crystals, a few feet from the entrance, she sat down and touched them, her finger skidding over the smooth suraface.

The lights danced around her and another one came close, hovering toward the necklace on her chest. The dragon began to glow brighter and brighter. As she watched a beam shot from the light and touched her necklace. For a moment it seemed as if the tiny, silver crafted creature was alive, shifting under the light. When she looked again the necklace had changed, a small, tiny flower, just like the ones that surrounded her was now the center of the small piece, the silver dragon curling around it's petals.

Then, they were gone. She watched them dance away, darting this way and that. They dipped below a rise and were gone from her sight only to appear once more on the next mountain range over. As she watched they all shot into the air and were soon lost among the glistening stars.

Feeling a little lost after the light and warmth of the strange lights she curled up on the ground. They had given her light and, unknown to her, more. They were spirits and when they had changed her necklace they had also infused some of their own power within it.

This power would save her many times over the next years, but it also interfered with the spells that would be cast in an attempt to find her. The spirits did not mean it but they had cut her off from her family, with no way for either side to find each other.

The last light of the day faded from the sky, revealing the stars in all their brillance. She looked up at them, wondering if her lights were up there somewhere, dancing and laughing with the stars.

It was not long before she felt the cold of the ground under her and she wished for her blankets. That problem was quickly solved for her. She heard them before she saw them, the pad of their enormous paws on the ground, the whoosh of their sides brushing the grass, and the soft, warm pant of their breath.

Slowly she sat up to look at them.

Wolves. She could just see the beautiful, earthy shades of their coats, black, gray, silver and brown. Their amber eyes gleamed in the crystals light as they padded at the edge of the trees, watching her and sniffing the air.

Her eyes were wide with wonder. They were so beautiful. The hounds her father had could not compare. Slowly her small hand rose toward them.

For a moment they remained still than one of them stepped forward. A brown one with a creamy underbelly, chest throat. It cautiously sniffed at her open hand. After a while it gave a satisfied huff and yipped softly to the other wolves who drew near to sniff as well.

After a while she timidly reached out her hand and ran her hand along their sides. Their fur was caked with twigs and mud but it was also soft and warm. Unconsciously, she drew closer pressing her cold bare arms against the warm fur.

The wolves examined her for a minute longer than the brown one lay down, curling up around the small girl. Smiling in delight Ismira curled up against its side, resting her head on it's back. Another wolf lay down on her other side, almost on top of her small legs as the other wolves settled in around them.

She drifted off to sleep, hungry but not longer frightened or cold.

For several weeks she did the same thing every day.

During the day squirrels and birds brought her nuts and berries to eat as she wondered about the forest, drinking from the streams she came to. For the first few days she called out for her Papa, Mama and Row, when there was no answer she would curl up in the grass and cry for a while. But after a while, she stopped calling, they were not coming.

As night began to fall she would hear the almost silent falls of paws and the wolves would appear, lead her back to meadow with the glowing crystals and they would lay down around her. Keeping her warm at night as she slept. Sometimes she would cry and the pack leader, the brown wolf, would lick away her salty tears.

Then, after she had been in the forest for nearly two months, things changed. It was a good thing too. Winter was coming soon and even the wolves warm fur would not be enough to keep her alive through the long chilly nights.

They were drawn by her laughter, or it might have been her tiny foot prints that their keen hunting eyes found.

She was completely oblivious to their approach. She was in a meadow playing with a baby dear as its mother grazed peacefully near by. Her clear, high laughter ringing through the trees, like the call of one of the many birds that were singing in the nearby trees.

Suddenly one of the birds farther back in the forest let out a shrill cry of alarm, making all the other birds go silent. The mother deer raised her head, her large dark eyes scanning the trees. Ismira and the fawn froze instinctively, listening and watching as well.

The mother grunted and her baby rushed to her side. Ismira did not follow though the mother dear grunted repeatedly for her. Giving up the mother turned and bounded into the trees. The little girl hardly noticed that they were fleeing, her heart was racing, wondering what was out there that made the animals so afraid. She had never been truly frightened of any living thing in her life, but the animals fear intensified her own. Finally the crash of enormous feet reached her ears and instinct took over. She bolted for the undergrowth, getting on her hands and knees she scrambled into its cover, not even feeling the scratch of the branches. Curling up she lay perfectly still, not daring to even move. The last time she had felt so afraid was the night she had been lost from her family.

She heard something huge walk into the meadow, more than one huge somethings. Shaking she opened her eyes and looked through the gap in the bushes she had just scrambled through. For a while she saw nothing then something large. It reminded her of her fathers shape but it was nothing like her father. It stood upright and had arms, legs and a head but it was enormous. The skin was dark and rough. Huge, curling horns came from the side of its head. Then she caught the glimpse of another one. Whatever they were, there were two. Their faces, with black eyes and curling lips, reminded her of the the dogs back at her home when they were really angry. They were making rough, snarling sounds.

Unbeknownst to her, they were Urgals. Two younger ones who had split off from their hunting party. They were talking to each other but she could not understand.

She watched as the scanned the ground, crouching down to look at it more carefully, then stood once more and began to come towards her.

That was too much for the little girl. They were looking toward her, they had found her. The instict to remain perfectly still dissapeared, replaced with the overwhelming urge to flee, to run.

She scrambled backwards. The wary Urgals froze at the unexpected noise, unsure whether the human they were hunting posed a threat or not. Their surprise gave her enough time to fight free of the bushes and start running.

The two urgals stars as the small young human burst from the bushes and began to run through the trees. She was so small they only caught the gleam of copper as the sunlight shone of her hair.

Then their own insticts took over and they ran after her.

Considering her age and size, Ismira was pretty fast, fueled by fear and instict she ran as hard and as fast as she could. But it was futile. It took five of her steps to cover one of the strides of the enormous Urgals.

She saw a break in the trees and ran for it. A cry of terror burst from her lips as she reached it and the ground disappeared underneath her. She caught a glimpse of dark, fast water before she went under.

She would have easily died right there. She did not know how to swim and the water was deep and fast. Already her lungs were filled with water as she tried to scream. Terror filled her. The next a hand, rough and huge, closed around her back and yanked her from the water.

The moment she was clear she coughed, vomiting water as her body desperately tried to get rid of it. The Urgal held her too tightly, helping to squeeze the water from her lungs. She did not hear the grunts of surprise as she was place on the ground. For a long time she continued to cough until she vommited enough water from her lungs to be able to breath once more.

Ismira looked up when a large hand reached for her once more. She scrambled away, kicking at the large hand in an effort to keep her distance. But the Urgal easily picked her up once more.

Ismira looked between them, to tired and exhausted to struggle. The Urgal tucked her under his arm and together the two Urgals ran through the trees.

Ismira hardly moved as they carried her away, to frightened to move. Tears fell down her cheeks as she thought of her parents and longed for the warm comfort of her wolves.

The sun was low in the sky by the time they came upon the clearing. She had dozed off, despite the uncomfortable position but snapped awake one more when the Urgals slowed to a walk. Lifting her head she saw the glow of a fire through the trees and as they cleared the trees she saw more of the massive creatures. She heard the grunts of surprise and looked up when one of the Urgals let out a string of unknown words.

The Urgal holding her lifted her to show her to the others. They were a small hunting party, getting game for their tribe to eat during the winter. She could not understand anything they were saying.

The two that had caught her were some of the youngest of the group, Ulgar and Tond. The other five where even bigger than they were. The largest of them stepped forward. He was large, but he too was one of the youngest ones there.

"'Where did you find this child, Ulgar?" he asked in their rough, grutal language. Examining the little girl.

"On Tansod's Peak. We did not see any signs of other humans."

The Urgal frowned, he reached out, silently asking for her. Ulgar handed her over. As she was transferred over the movement was enough to once again spike her fear. She struggled in the new Urgals grip, hitting his hands with her tiny fists. But he could hardly feel it. His hands were big enough that he was easily able to hold her in one of them.

As she was lifted to eye level she began to scream, clawing at his hands to try and get him to let her go.

The Urgal winced at the piercing noise and he growled. She instantly went silent trembling and scared.

"She is pretty frightened," one of the older Urgals said.

"It is a she?" Ulgar asked, "how can you tell?"

"It is harder to tell when they are so young, but humans usually allow their female young ones to grow their hair longer."

"Why is she wet," the one holding her asked.

"When she was running from us she fell into a creek. We were wondering if you would be able to speak to her Tognar, your dam taught you the human language right."

The older one snorted. " The question is if she is old enough to understand her own tongue yet."

Tognar was silent for a moment.

"I will try and speak to her. Whether she responds or not I want you to take me back to where you found her. Maybe we can find some trace of her parents or a hint to where she belongs."

Carrying her away from the other Urgals he set her down at the base of a tree. She instantly huddled close to the trunk, holding herself to it desperately.

He watched her for a moment, saw the terror in her eyes. But there was something else there. Anger, or determination. He had no doubt that if he reached for her again she would fight him heedless to how useless it would be.

"Hello," he said, trying to make his voice smooth and flat like the humans.

She went still and stared up at him.

"Hello," he said again, softly.

She blinked up at him then her voice, small but still clear reached his ears as her lips moved. "Hello."

He nodded then pointed at himself.

"Tognar. What your name?"

For a long time she stared at him and he repeated the phrase several times. Her young mind bringing her back to the image of her fathers face as he pointed to his chest and said "Papa" then pointed at her chest and said "Ismira." Then an image of her brother copying him. "Garrow." then pointing to her and saying. "Mira."

Slowly, she pointed to herself. "Mira."

It was hard for her to say her own name. What the young Urgal heard was "Mera."

He nodded, pleased that they were getting somewhere.

"Me Mera," he said pointing at her.

She frowned for a moment than nodded.

He pointed at himself again. "Tognar."

He repeated it.

"Tog," she finally said when he pointed at himself.

He chuckled. It was as close as he was going to get.

"Where parents?" he asked slowly.

She just stared at him.

He repeated himself and when she still did not answer he tried a different way.

"Where your mother and father?

"Mama?" she asked timidly. He nodded then spread his hands to emphasis "where."

"Where Mama?" he asked.

"Gone."

"Where?"

"Gone, lost long, long time."

He blinked then looked at her more closely. The small dress she wore, once green, was now faded and now more of a murky green. It was torn in may places. Her skin was covered in little scratches and caked with grime. Her hair, which reminded him of the earth painted with the sunsets rays, though still wet, was tangled and matted. She was also thin, having little of the natural roundness that the Urgal knew almost all children of ever race had. The little girl had been on her own for a long time. But how had she survived? She was so young. It was hard to judge because she was so small even compared to their young but he guessed she could be no more than two or three years. Completely helpless on her own. There had to be someone who had been taking care of her or she would have been dead a long time ago. Though the person was not a good caregiver if they had allowed her to get into this condition.

He was drawn from his thoughts when he heard a chattering noise. He looked at her in surprise. She was trembling, now hugging herself. Her cloths and hair were still wet and the day was quickly becoming colder.

Slowly he reached for her, trying not to frighten her. She coward away, her trembling stopping for a moment and was replaced with fear.

"Its alright," he said, speaking softly, though it felt unnatural. Though it was humiliating he made soft crooning noises.

For a while she remained still, but when he reached for her again she did not pull away. Reminding himself to be very gentle he picked her up, tucking her close to his chest and holding her with one arm he approached the fire.

The others looked up as he sat down with them. She trembled and he gently held her closer.

"Her name is Mera and, from what I can tell, seems as if she has been separated from her parents," he said in answer to their inquisitive looks.

"How is that possible? One so young would have died." the elder asked.

"I do not know. Which is why I think someone might be up there that has been taking care of her."

The elder looked her over, coming to the same conclusion that Tognar had. "Not doing a good job if they left her unattended and allowed her to get into this state."

Tognar nodded. "If we find him, I intend to talk to him about it."

Ulgar frowned, knowing he was included in the we. "And if we do not."

"We will worry about that when it comes."

Tond sighed. "We had better be off then, if we want it to be light enough for us to find tracks."

Tognar nodded, then looking down at her once more he looked to one of the Urgals.

"Is the food finished."

The urgal nodded. Tognar grabbed his water pouch and emptied it, passing it to the Urgal who filled it with some of the soup in a large, hanging skin sack that had been warming near the fire.

Tognar waited until the pouch cooled in his hand then held the lip of it up to the little girl. For a while she did nothing but eventually she grasped it in her hands and tipped it up. With his help she managed to swallow several mouthfuls.

Ulgar leaned close to Tond. "I never thought I would see Tognar being so...gentle," he grumbled softly.

"He used to have a little sister, remember."

"Yes, she died didn't she?"

Tond nodded. "Only a few short years after his father was killed."

They both looked back toward Tognar as he stood after the little girl had drank her fill. Swallowing what remained he looked toward them.

"Let us go."

They stood and headed off.

Ismira's fear had faded. The Urgals had not harmed her and they had given her food, though they looked alarming she was no longer afraid that they would hurt her.

After a while Tognar placed her on his right shoulder, easily keeping her in place with one of his large hands over her legs. Her arms wound around his large horns and she actually laughed when he began to run. It was fun for her.

It was not long they reached the meadow where the other two had found her. One they reached it they stopped.

"We came across her trail farther to the west," Tond said, pointing up the mountain.

Tognar nodded and headed in that direction. He could clearly see the two Urgals tracks from earlier as well as her tiny prints. Eventually the larger tracks disappeared.

For quiet some time they followed her trail from that morning. As far as he could tell she had been wondering around aimlessly, going wherever pleased her. And he would be right. Ismira wondered the forest, not caring where she was going or getting far away from the cave because she knew the wolves would come and find her and lead her back.

Eventually he came across more signs and trails that were much older. He had the others follow them for a while but they all ended up coming from the same general direction. Then he stopped. There were other tracks that were around hers. Large paw prints.

"Wolves," Tond said when he examined them as well. "Do you think they were stalking her?"

Tognar frowned. "Normally I would say yes, but if they had been they would have already attacked her."

They continued as soon he was seeing more trails made by her and more paw prints. Some of them were days, even weeks old. He was sure they were getting close.

Finally they broke the trees and the Urgals froze at the sight before them. The glowing crystals shone in the shadows of the cave and the dim light of the fading day.

"Moon crystals," Ulgar said in awe.

Ismira, completely herself again, let out a squeal of excitement and bounced excitedly. Tognar put her down and she ran toward the cave, stopping several yards away at the base of a large tree near the cave entrance. The grass there was flattened from her constant steps and from where she slept with the wolves every night. Tognar watched her, seeing her obvious happiness of being here.

"Look around, see if you can find any signs of someone else," he instructed the other two Urgals. They nodded and disappeared into the trees. As she sat contently in her little place he scanned the meadow for something that would indicate a older human, a thread, a foot print, a fire ring, but he saw nothing which confirmed what he already knew. She was alone.

But how had she survived?

Suddenly she went quiet and he turned to see why. At first he saw nothing but her kneeling on the ground, then something moved beside her. He looked closer. It was a rabbit, a small rabbit slowly hopping toward her. It's ears were quivering and turned toward him but it continued toward the little girl. In its mouth, was a large, wild carrot. Once it was next to the little girl it dropped the vegetable beside her, letting her small hand stroke its fur for a few moments before it hopped away.

He stared, hardly believing what he had just seen when a bird suddenly flew down from its perch above her head. In its beak was a small branch with three black berries hanging from it. It perched on her shoulder and dropped it into her expectant hand before letting out a trill and flew off.

The animals were feeding her! He realized with shock. She had survived because she had some special connection to animals.

Shaking his head in amazement he started to raise his head to call for his brethren. There was no point looking anymore, there was no one to find.

Then he saw them, the gleam of eyes, the low bodies, the graceful shapes. Before he could so much as take a step forward they surrounded the girl. His muscles tightened, ready to lunge forward to rescue her when he once again froze at the sound of her laughter.

She threw her arms around the neck of the largest of the animals, clearly delighted. The other wolves had their backs to her, their stances tense and ready as they glared at him, watching with unwavering amber eyes. He remained still, unsure what they would do if he made a sudden move.

"Mera," he called out. She looked up.

"Come here."

She frowned. "No want to, Brownie here. Sleep soon."

He looked at the wolf she was clinging to. No doubt that was Brownie.

"Mera, come here," he commanded again.

She frowned but began to walk toward him. Instantly the wolves closed in around her, blocking her way, growling at him. She looked at them in surprise then up at him. He saw rekindled fear in her eyes. The wolves were afraid of him, that gave her reason enough to be wary.

"They no like you," she said. "Scared."

"Mera, they dangerous."

She shook her head. "Keep me warm, sleep with me. They help me. My friends."

He remained silent for a long time. The wolves tensed again as Tond and Ulgar burst from the trees to come to his side.

"What are they doing?" Tond asked, eying the wolves warily.

"I believe their her caretakers," he said smoothly, his calm voice completely hiding his own bewilderment.

For a moment it seemed as if they were going to laugh but when they saw he was serious they turned and stared at the little girl.

"A magician," Tond said with awe.

For a long time they stood there. The wolves stopped growling and just watched them warily. Ismira, for her part, yawned, rubbing at her eyes. She raised her hand and waved goodbye.

"Bye, bye. You go now," she said. "Thank you."

With that she lay down in the grass. As they watched the large brown wolf lay down beside her and she curled up against it will another wolf curled around her other side. The rest of the sat around them, their eyes unwavering as they watched the Urgals every move.

"She seems well taken care of to me," Ulgar said, laughing slightly. "Lets go back."

"We cannot leave her here, you moron."

"Why? She is fine."

"For how long? It is a miracle she has lasted this long, wondering the forest as she has been. Even if she manages to avoid death, winter is coming, the animals will ave a hard enough time taking care of themselves. If we leave her here, she will die."

"Not our problem, she's a human."

He looked up and instantly tensed. Tognar looked ready to kill.

"We will take her back to the village with us," he growled, voice rumbling. Feral rage radianted off of him and the wolves where instantly tense and growling. "Then take her to the humans as soon as we can."

"Tell them that," Tond said, nodding toward the snarling wolves. Their growls made the girl sit up in alarm.

"Tog, what wrong? You go."

He shook his head, just stopping himself from growling. "No," he said in the human tongue. "Mera, come here."

She shook her head.

Ulgar laughed. "She is not going to come willingly."

Tognar shot him a glare before stepping forward. Instantly the wolves were up and bristling once more. Ismira got to her feet and backed way toward the huge tree, fear back in her eyes. Tognar growled in frusteration. She would likely be scared to death of him for a while after this but he could not leave her here.

He strode forward, a deep rumble coming from his chest. The wolves snarled in response. They were not going to be intimidated by him and they were not going to give up the little girl without a fight.

He slowly stalked forward, watching the wolves. The were too small to do any serious harm, but there teeth and claws were sharp. When he was only a few feet away he saw one of them tense, if he took another step, he was sure they would attack. The large brown which Ismira had been clinging too began to nudge her with its muzzle, urging her toward the trees.

That was when he moved. With a speed and agility that belied his enormous size he lunged forward, past the bristling wolves and toward the little girl. The brown wolf lunged but he batted it aside with a huge hand and scooped the now screaming girl up with the other, tucking her close to his chest. She beat at him with tiny fist but against his tough hide he could hardly feel it. The claws slashing across his legs were a different matter. He turned and let out a bellow, making the wolves flinch back. The brown one stood its ground, snarling and crouched, eyes fixed on the struggling little girl.

The meadow rang with roars as the other two Urgals charged at the wolf pack from behind. Caught between the enemy the wolves instincts of survival quickly kicked in and they retreated, fleeing into the trees. Ismira screamed after them, tears streaming down her face. The brown one stopped at the edge of the trees, looking back before disappearing into the darkness.

"Is she going to keep up that noise all the way back to camp," Ulgar said in exasperation, indicating Ismira's wailing.

"Most likely. I think we frightened her," Tond said.

"You think?" Tognar replied scathingly. Reminding himself to be gentle he tucked her against his side and began to run the way they had come. It took a while but soon she stopped screaming, crying softly until she went quiet completely. Slowing he lifted her to find her fast asleep.

"She has had a hard day," Tond said as he stopped beside him. "Do you want me to carry her for a while?"

Tognar shook his head. "She is no burden."

Cradling her in one arm he lead the way pack to camp.

He saw the lithe shapes and heard the whisper of paw-steps but he ignored them as did the other two. Whatever pull drew the animals too the child, he did not know, but it was not strong enough to override their instincts. They were outmatched.

Though he was not sure that would stop the large brown. He saw the wolf several times, running parallel to him through the trees. It was not going to give up so easily.

As he looked ahead his mind began to turn. They would take her back to the tribe. It would not be long before one of the tribe members planned to go toward on of the human villages. Till then his home would shelter her.

He thought of his mother, who lived with him and took care of the hut. Despite the fact the child was human he knew she would be all too delighted to tend to the little girl. He knew she had longed for a child for many years but had refused to choose another mate after his father was killed in the Great War. Little Mera would be good company for his dam until she had to return to the humans. His mother firm gentleness would quickly cure Mera of her fears. Who knew, maybe the gods had something in store that he could not yet see. But he was sure that her being found by their people was no accident.

**I have had some people ask whether Roran and Katrina's children, Garrow and Ismira, are meant to be the characters from the stories or not. Garrow and Ismira are named after their grandparents, just to make that clear. I like making stories that don't interfere with the original ones. For most things anyway. Anyway, I know this is not very good, I was rushing through it but I hope you enjoyed it and I hope to be writing this story some time. **


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